S.I. No. 288/1952:

COAL MINES (STORAGE AND USE OF EXPLOSIVES) ORDER, 1952.

COAL MINES (STORAGE AND USE OF EXPLOSIVES) ORDER, 1952.

I, SEAN F. LEMASS, Minister for Industry and Commerce, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 61 of the Coal Mines Act, 1911, as adapted by the Adaptation of Enactments Act, 1922 (No. 2 of 1922), and of every and any other power me in this behalf enabling, hereby order as follows :--

PART I. PRELIMINARY.

1.--(1) This Order may be cited as the Coal Mines (Storage and Use of Explosives) Order, 1952.

(2) This Order shall come into operation on the 1st day of November, 1952.

2. The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937), applies to this Order.

3. In this Order--

" coal mine " includes mines in which coal is found, whether worked or not ;

" road " includes all roads of any description extending from the shaft or outlet to within 10 yards of the coal face ;

" the Act " means the Coal Mines Act, 1911.

4. The Orders mentioned in the Schedule to this Order are hereby revoked.

PART II. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

5. (a) No explosive substance shall be stored underground in any mine. The owner, agent or manager of the mine shall provide a suitable place or places of storage above ground for all explosives intended to be used in the mine and shall make suitable provision conveniently near the entrance of the mine for the storage of surplus explosive brought out of the mine at the end of each shift. If any explosive remains in the possession of a workman at the end of his shift, either he shall bring it with him out of the mine and return it at once to the place of storage provided for the purpose, or, if the explosive is required for a shift immediately following, he shall deliver it personally to the workman succeeding him in his working place.

(b) No explosive shall be taken or used underground except in cartridges, and such cartridges shall be taken into the mine and kept until about to be used for the charging of a shot-hole in a secure case or canister containing not more than five pounds, and a person shall not have in use at one time in any one place more than one of such cases or canisters. No explosive shall be taken or used underground except in cartridges of the diameter of 7/8 inch, 1¼ inches, 1 7/16 inches, 1¾ inches or 2 inches.

(c) No drill shall be used for the boring of a shot-hole unless it allows at least a clearance of 1/8 inch over the diameter of the cartridge which is intended to be used in the shot-hole, and no person shall attempt to charge a shot-hole unless such clearance exists.

(d) (i) Detonators shall be kept in a place of storage provided in pursuance of clause 5 (a) of this Order until issued.

(ii) The detonators in any place of storage as aforesaid shall be under the sole control of the manager or some one person specially authorised in writing by the manager to have such control in respect of that place of storage for the time being.

(iii) The manager or other person for the time being having control of detonators as aforesaid shall record daily in a book to be kept at the mine for the purpose the names of the persons to whom detonators are issued and the number issued to each.

(iv) The manager or other person for the time being having control of detonators as aforesaid shall only issue detonators to persons specially authorised in writing by the manager for the purpose. No person shall be so authorised unless he is 23 years of age or upwards and has had at least three years' practical experience underground in a mine.

(v) Every person to whom detonators are issued as aforesaid shall keep the detonators until they are about to be used for the charging of a shot-hole, in a suitable case or box, which shall be provided by the owner and which shall be kept securely locked and separate from any other case or box containing explosive, and shall be used only for the storage of the detonators.

(vi) No person shall take into the mine or have in his possession in the mine any detonators except in accordance with the foregoing provisions.

(vii) In the case of a shaft being sunk from the surface or deepened, it shall not be deemed a contravention of the foregoing provisions if the primers for charges are fitted with detonators on the surface before being taken into the shaft, provided the primers are so fitted in a workshop established under section 47 of the Explosives Act, 1875, and are only taken into the shaft immediately before use by the authorised person and in a thick felt bag or other receptacle sufficient to protect them from shock.

6 (a) Every charge shall be placed in a properly drilled and placed shot-hole, and shall have sufficient stemming, and each such charge shall consist of a cartridge or cartridges of not more than one description of explosive. Cartridges in which detonators have to be inserted shall not be less than 2½ inches in length. It shall be the duty of the person firing the shot to satisfy himself that these requirements are fulfilled before he fires the shot.

(b) No iron or steel scraper, charger, tamping rod or stemmer shall be taken into or used in the mine; and only clay or other non-inflammable substances shall be used for stemming, and shall be provided by the owner, agent or manager of the mine.

(c) No explosive shall be forcibly pressed into a hole, and, when a hole has been charged, the explosive shall not be unrammed nor shall any part of the stemming be removed nor shall the detonator leads be pulled out.

(d) Before any shot is charged, the direction of the hole shall, where possible, be distinctly marked on the roof or other convenient place.

(e) The person firing the shot shall, before doing so, see that all persons in the vicinity have taken proper shelter, and he shall also take effective steps to prevent any person approaching the shot. He shall also himself take proper shelter. If he has reason to believe that there is a possibility of the shot blowing through into an adjoining place he shall send verbal warning to the persons in that adjoining place to take proper shelter, and he shall not fire the shot until he is satisfied that they have taken proper shelter. No person shall enter any working place other than his own without first ascertaining that shot-firing is not in progress in it.

(f) No shot shall be fired in any mine except by means of an efficient electrical apparatus or by means of a fuse complying with the provisions of clause 9.

(g) The person firing the shot shall, after the shot has been fired make a careful examination of the place and see that it is safe in all respects.

(h) Where shots are fired electrically they shall only be fired by a competent person authorised in writing by the manager for the purpose. No person shall be so appointed unless he is 23 years of age or upwards, and has had at least three years' practical experience underground in a mine. The authorised person shall not use, for the purpose of firing, a cable which is less than 20 yards in length. He shall himself couple up the cable to the fuse or detonator wires and shall do so before coupling the cable to the firing-apparatus. He shall take care to prevent the cable coming into contact with any power or lighting cables. He shall also himself couple the cable to the firing apparatus. Before doing so, he shall see that all persons in the vicinity have taken proper shelter.

(i) No authorised person shall open or interfere with any electrical shot-firing apparatus. Every electrical shot-firing apparatus shall be so constructed and used

(i) that it can only be operated by a removable handle or plug. The handle or plug shall not be placed in position until a shot is about to be fired and shall be removed as soon as a shot has been fired, and it shall at all times whilst the authorised person is on duty be kept in his personal custody.

(ii) that the firing circuit is made and broken either automatically or by means of a push button switch.

(j) No persons shall use or allow to be used any electrical shot-firing apparatus which is defective or unsafe. An apparatus shall be deemed to be defective if it fails to fire any shot or the whole of a round of shots.

(k) Where shots are fired by fuse every such shot shall be charged, stemmed and fired by or under the supervision of a competent person, every such person being 23 years of age or upwards and shall have had at least three years' practical experience underground in a mine.

(l) Every shot shall be fired during the shift in which it was charged.

(m) Only nippers made for the purpose and provided by the owner of the mine shall be used for fixing detonators to fuses.

(n) While a shot-hole is being charged or explosive is being handled, no person shall smoke or have a naked light within a distance of four feet from the shot-hole or explosive or in such a position that it may fall on the explosive. If a naked light is used for firing a shot, all other explosives shall be removed to a safe distance from the shot-hole before the light is brought near to the hole.

(o) No drill or other metal tool shall be introduced into any part of a hole in which a charge has previously been fired.

(p) When shots are fired by fuse, not more than three shots shall be lighted at a time in one place.

(q) Where fuse is used as a means of firing shots, the length of every fuse so used shall not be less than four feet outside the explosive charge, and no shot shall be fired unless there is not less than one foot of fuse protruding from the mouth of the shot-hole.

7. (a) If an attempt to fire a shot has been made and the shot does not explode at the time it was intended to explode, it shall be deemed to be a mis-fired shot, and the person firing the shot shall not himself approach or allow any other person to approach nor shall any person knowingly approach the shot-hole until an interval has elapsed of not less than ten minutes in the case of shots fired by electricity, and not less than an hour in the case of shots fired by other means.

(b) If the person firing the shot has occasion to leave the place, he shall fence off the place before leaving, and attach to each fence a danger board indicating the presence of a miss-fired shot.

(c) A second charge shall not be placed in the same hole.

(d) If the shot was fired electrically the person firing the shot shall, before approaching or allowing anyone to approach the shot-hole, disconnect the cable and the removable handle or plug from the firing apparatus and shall examine the cable and connections for any defect, and no person shall knowingly approach the shot-hole until this has been done.

(e) Except where the mis-fire is due to a faulty cable or a faulty connection, and the shot is fired as soon as practicable after the defect is remedied, another shot shall be fired in a fresh hole which shall be drilled not less than twelve inches away from the hole in which the shot has missed fire, and shall, as far as practicable, be parallel with it.

(f) If the mis-fired shot contained a detonator, the person firing the second shot shall, before doing so, attach a string to the electric leads or the fuse of the mis-fired shot, and secure it by attaching it to the cable or to a prop or otherwise.

(g) After the second shot has been fired no person shall work in the place until the person firing the shot or an official of the mine has made a careful search for the detonator and charge of the mis-fired shot. If the detonator and charge are not found, the stone or mineral shall be loaded under the supervision of the person firing the shot, or an official, and sent to the surface in a specially marked tub. The search for the detonator and charge and the loading of any stone or mineral which may contain a detonator, shall be carried out as far as possible without the use of tools.

(h) Should the miss-fired shot not be dislodged by the second shot, further holes must be drilled and the same precautions taken as aforesaid.

(i) The person or persons firing the shots shall report the circumstances to the manager or under-manager without delay, and the number of cartridges, if any, which have not been found,-and hand to him the detonator and charge, if found.

8. The foregoing provisions of clause 6 (c) as to the removal of any part of the stemming and the pulling out of detonator leads and of clause 7 as to miss-fired shots shall not apply in cases in which an exemption has been granted by the Minister for Industry and Commerce on the ground that an appliance is used which enables the detonator to be removed with safety after the shot-hole has been charged.

9. (1) Every fuse shall consist of a core of gunpowder, protected by not less than three coverings of thread or by not less than two coverings of thread and one of tape or guttapercha.

(2) Every fuse shall be of such quality that the rate of burning shall not vary more than ten seconds above or below the rate of ninety seconds for every yard of fuse.

PART III. SPECIAL PROVISIONS.

10. (a) In all coal mines in which safety lamps are required to be used in pursuance of section 32 of the Act no explosive shall be used in or taken for the purpose of use into the seam or seams in which safety lamps are so required to be used, or any shaft or drift communicating therewith which is in process of being sunk, deepened, driven or enlarged, as the case may be.

(b) In all coal mines which are not naturally wet throughout, no explosive shall be used in or taken for the purpose of use into any road or any dry and dusty part of the mine, or any shaft or drift communicating therewith which is in process of being sunk, deepened, driven or enlarged, as the case may be.

(c) The foregoing provisions of this clause shall not apply to any mine for the time being exempted therefrom by order of the Minister for Industry and Commerce so long as the conditions annexed to the order of exemption are duly observed.

PART IV. SUPPLEMENTAL.

11. The foregoing provisions shall apply in the case of sinking operations with the following additions :--

(a) No explosive shall be taken or sent into the shaft until immediately before it is required for use.

(b) No shot shall be fired except by means of an efficient electrical apparatus.

(c) The firing cable shall not be coupled up to the fuse or detonator wires, until the kettle, tub, bowk or hoppet is conveniently placed for the men in the shaft to enter, and the chargeman has received a signal from the surface that the engineman is ready to draw away on receipt of the signal to do so, and the cable shall not be coupled to the firing apparatus until all persons are in a place of safety.

(d) Before drilling is commenced, the ground in the neighbourhood of the place where the shot-hole is to be drilled shall be thoroughly cleared to enable the position of any sockets or miss-fired shot-holes to be seen.

(e) After a shot has been fired the chargeman shall not allow any person to descend until he has descended, accompanied if necessary by not more than two other persons, and has examined the place and found it to be safe in all respects. If the place is one in which inflammable gas is likely to be found, the examination shall be made with a locked safety lamp of a type which will indicate the presence of such gas.

12. Where a mine contains separate seams, this Order shall apply to each seam as if it were a separate mine.

13. A copy of this Order shall be supplied to every person who fires shots and shall also be kept posted up in some conspicuous place at or near the mine where it may be conveniently read or seen by the person employed.

SCHEDULE.

1. The Explosives in Coal Mines Order of the 1st day of September, 1913.

2. The Explosives in Coal Mines Order of the 30th day of March, 1915.

3. The Explosives in Coal Mines Order of the 18th day of September, 1918.

4. The Explosives in Coal Mines Order of the 14th day of November, 1919.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 25th day of September, 1952.

(Signed) SEÁN F. LEMASS,

Minister for Industry and Commerce.